Casimir III of Poland

Casimir III "the Great" of Poland (30 April 1310-5 November 1370) was King of Poland from 1333 to 1370, succeeding Wladyslaw I of Poland and preceding Louis I of Hungary. Casimir was the last ruler from the House of Piast, dying on a hunt without any male heirs to succeed him; the House of Anjou would gain power with Louis.

Biography
Casimir was born on 30 April 1310, son of Wladyslaw I of Poland and Hedwig of Kalisz. In 1333, he inherited a fragmented kingdom of Poland, with his enemies calling him "King of Krakow" and not recognizing him as King of Poland. Casimir the Great rebuilt the kingdom, reforming and increasing the size of the Polish army and conquering much of Ukraine, doubling the size of Poland. Casimir also founded Krakow University and allowed Jews to settle in Poland in great numbers, giving the death sentence to Christians who kidnapped Jewish children for forced baptism and protecting them as "people of the king". Casimir left no lawful male heir to the throne when he died in a hunting accident in 1370, so he left the throne to Louis I of Hungary, the son of Charles I of Hungary and a member of the House of Anjou.